Parent-child relationship measures and pre-post treatment changes for a clinical preschool sample using DC:0-3R

To reduce psychopathologies in children, various treatment approaches focus on the parent-child relationship. Disruptions in the parent-child relationship are outlined in the most recently revised versions of the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC:0-3R/DC:0-5). The measures used to assess the parent-child relationship include the Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale (PIRGAS) and the Relationship Problems Checklist (RPCL), which cover, e.g., essential concepts like over- or underinvolvement of the caregiver. However, not much is known about the cross-sectional and predictive value of PIRGAS and RPCL scores at admission to discharge, namely whether changes in these scores are correlated with child and maternal psychopathologies and changes through treatment.

Based on clinical records of 174 preschool-aged children of the Family Day Hospital, we report related basic descriptive data and changes from admission to discharge for the parent-child relationship, child behaviour, and maternal psychopathology. We used a Pearson correlation or a point-biserial correlation to describe the associations and performed a paired t-test to examine differences before and after measurement.

Our results show overall improvements in our parent-child relationship measures and in child and maternal psychopathology. However, we observed little or no correlation between the parent-child relationship measures and child or maternal psychopathology.

We highlight potential drawbacks and limitations of the two relationship measures used that may explain the results of this study on the associations between the variables assessed. The discussion emphasizes the assessment of DC:0-3R/DC:0-5, which are popular in clinical practice for economic reasons.